He has built a very strong team. Therefore they will aim to retain as many players as possible- Parthiv Patel
IPL franchises have to submit the list of their retained players by the evening of October 31. According to the new retention rules, teams can retain a maximum of 6 players, which can include 5 Indians, one foreign player and two uncapped Indian players. There is a lot of discussion going on about what will be the retention strategy of defending champion Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). According to reports, the franchise may release captain Shreyas Iyer and Andre Russell.
KKR will have a strong team- Parthiv Patel
Recently during a discussion, former Indian player Parthiv Patel said that KKR would like to retain as many of its players as possible. Parthiv believes that Kolkata has a strong core and they will stick to it at all costs. Apart from this, he also hinted that the franchise may have to include either Phil Salt or Harshit Rana in the auction.
In a release issued by GeoCinema, Parthiv Patel said,
KKR will have to take tough decisions with this team. Phil Salt has done well, even though he did not play in the knockout rounds. Together with Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Varun Chakravarthy and even Venkatesh Iyer (another retained player), they have formed a very strong team. Therefore they will aim to retain as many players as possible.
Parthiv Patel further said,
It will be difficult to choose between Phil Salt or Harshit Rana for the auction, which will be a difficult decision for KKR. I think there will be a long discussion on this because building consensus can be challenging. But having this kind of ‘problem’ – choosing between stronger options – is a positive one. Whatever the result, KKR will have a strong team.
Rinku Singh has earned his retention spot – Parthiv Patel
Speaking further, Parthiv Patel also talked in detail about why Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) should retain Rinku Singh. He emphasized that Rinku has been seen batting with consistency for KKR in the last three seasons and the young batsman has shown his ability even while playing for Team India.
Rinku Singh expects to benefit greatly from these retention options. There is no doubt that he deserves it – he has been consistently impressive over the last three years, was initially signed for around Rs 70-75 lakh, and has now proven his skills at the international level. He handles pressure well and has really earned his retention spot.